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Team Great Plains earns revenge in quarterfinals

By Tim Droogsma, Elite League News Services, 10/30/10, 9:31AM CDT

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One-goal victory over Wisconsin sends Great Plains into semifinals

Team Great Plains lost three of four to Team Wisconsin during the Upper Midwest High School Elite Hockey League's regular season, never scoring more than three goals in any of the games. But it gained a measure of revenge Friday night, posting a 5-4 win over Wisconsin to move on to the Elite League playoff semifinals against Team North.

Goals by Grand Forks Central's John Simonson and Bryant Christian of Moorhead gave Great Plains an early 2-1 lead, and Christian's second goal of the game made the score 3-1 early in the second.

The key moment came midway through the second period. Shortly after Wisconsin's Brad Navin scored his second goal of the game to cut the Great Plains lead to 3-2, Wisconsin was on the power play, looking for the tying goal.

That's when Great Plains' Jordan Aamot, a senior from Grand Forks Central, picked up a loose puck in his own end, stickhandled through center ice, cut around a defender to the net and flipped a backhander on goal. Wisconsin goalie Saxton Soley of Eau Claire Memorial made the stop, but Grafton's Ryan Callahan tapped in the rebound for a shorthanded goal and a 4-2 Great Plains lead.

Brent Skibba scored for Wisconsin to make it 4-3, but Roseau's Shane Omdahl restored the two-goal margin for Great Plains with a goal at 17:49 of the second period.

Wisconsin again cut the lead to one with 5:04 remaining in the third period on Ben Scherschel's goal, and nearly tied the game with three minutes left, when Garrett Clemment's wrister hit the pipe. But Great Plains goalie Bryan Nies of Grand Forks Red River shut the door, finishing with 38 saves.

Great Plains will play at 3:45 Saturday at New Hope Arena against Team North.